Infosys to open digital centre in Romania

Bengaluru, March 14: Infosys would open a digital innovation centre at Bucharest in Romania to develop software for clients based on cloud, big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, said the IT major on Wednesday.

"We will invest in training our current employees and new hires for competencies, including user experience, cloud, big data, digital offerings, core technology skills and computer science skills," said the city-based company in a statement.

The $11-billion outsourcing firm also tied up with the University of Bucharest and the University Politehnica Bucharest for innovation and Romanian workforce development, including joint training courses, scholarships and research.

"The training for Romanian workforce will leverage the learnings and best practices we have developed at our global education centre at Mysuru in Karnataka," said the statement.

Mysuru is about 150km southwest of Bengaluru.

The IT behemoth plans to open a cyber defence centre in Bucharest in summer to provide 24/7 cyber security services to European and global clients.

The services will be in cyber forensics, ethical hacking, security analytics, threat detection and response.

"The centre will be vital to delivering services across the European region, given the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other country-specific data regulation requirements.

The GDPR is a European Union law on data protection and privacy for all individuals in the region and the European Economic Area.

"Our digital innovation centre in Bucharest marks an important step as it expands our presence across Europe, improving our ability to serve both regional and global clients," said Infosys President S. Ravi Kumar in the statement.

By partnering with local academic institutions, the company is creating organic talent pools in Romania.

"By training and developing skilled workforce in Romania, we can help close the digital skills gap in the region and contribute to the Romanian and European economy," said Kumar on the occasion.

As a top employer in Europe, the company operates in 15 countries in the region, employing 12,000 techies, who cater European and global clients in diverse verticals, including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, business process management, utilities, manufacturing and retail.

"Europe is a hotbed for innovation and the next generation of workforce is keen to develop its skills and knowledge in the digital age through the best training and hands-on experience," said University of Bucharest Rector Mircea Dumitru in the statement.

The university has partnered with Infosys so that its students and graduates can work and train with its IT experts at the digital centre.

"IT services is a growing industry in Romania and the digital innovation centre offers an opportunity for students and professionals to develop their skills, find career prospects and enhance digital technologies across industries in Romania and Europe," said Romania Vice Prime Minister Ana Birchall.